"The colossal mammal is being ruthlessly slaughtered to extinction by ivory poachers with the population – currently 600,000 – diminishing by 38,000 a year. These figures, calculated using the annual number of illegal tusk seizures, significantly exceed elephant birth rates meaning the species could face extinction entirely within 15 years, says Samuel Wasser of the Scientific American Journal... Chad’s Zakouma National Park had 3,885 elephants in 2005 but by 2009 the figure had plummeted to just 617. At least 11 rangers were killed by poachers there over the same period."